Modi slams attempts to ‘run down’ Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel legacy

New Delhi: In an indirect attack on the Congress just weeks ahead of the Gujarat elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said some parties and governments had earlier tried to run down and erase the contributions of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in unifying the nation immediately after Independence.

Flagging off a run to commemorate the 142nd birth anniversary of Sardar Patel, Mr Modi said that due to the statesmanship and political acumen of the nation’s first home minister, India was united today despite the colonial rulers’ wish that it get disintegrated into smaller states after Independence.

“There have been attempts to run down Patel, to ensure that the contribution of Patel was forgotten. But Sardar is Sardar, whether any government or any party recognises his contribution or not, the nation and its youth will not forget him,” he said, without naming any government or party.

“The youth of India respects him and his contribution towards the building of our nation,” the PM noted.

Mr Modi’s comment bears significance as it came ahead of the Assembly polls in Gujarat, Patel’s home state.

Paying rich tribute to Sardar Patel, the PM said he had not only saved the country from the difficulties faced immediately after Independence, but also succeeded in uniting the entire nation.

“The British wished that India disintegrate into smaller states. But Patel used all means (Sam, dam, dand, bhed, rajneeti, kutneeti) and succeeded in uniting all princely states into a single nation within a very small span of time,” he said.

The PM said generation after generation of Indians will continue to remember Patel, particularly the youth, who will carry forward his legacy. The “Run for Unity”, which began from the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium here, saw the participation of a large number of people, including sports personalities like Sardar Singh, Deepa Karmakar, Suresh Raina and Karnam Malleswari.

The 1.5-km run here came to an end near the India Gate C-Hexagon-Shah Jahan Road radial.

Earlier, President Ram Nath Kovind, vice-president M. Venkaiah Naidu, the PM and home minister Rajnath Singh paid floral tributes to Patel on Parliament Street, where his statue is installed. Mr Modi said everyone in the country was proud of Patel’s contribution to India before it attained freedom and during the early years of Independence. The Central government observes October 31 as “Rashtriya Ekta Diwas” to commemorate the birth anniversary of Sardar Patel.

Later Tuesday, Mr Venkaiah Naidu said it was unfortunate that there had been no proper recognition of the monumental contribution made by Sardar Patel and his legacy in unifying the country at its most critical juncture in history. Patel was a selfless leader who had shaped India’s destiny with single-minded devotion, the vice-president said at an event to commemorate the 142nd birth anniversary of India’s first home minister at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library.